Great Britain's Crown Jewels have often been called the finest jewelry collection in the world, with scores of priceless objects created to be physical embodiments of the monarchy itself, from a 12th-century spoon, used at coronations to pour out the holy oil of St. Thomas Becket, to the crown that King Edward VIII took into exile after he abdicated in 1936. Arrayed here in some 200 color plates—most newly photographed, including two 31-inch gatefolds—the Crown Jewels are depicted in unprecedented detail, along with painted and photographic portrayals of monarchs wearing the regalia at coronation ceremonies and other royal events.